Combines are large self-propelled vehicles used for harvesting and threshing agricultural crop in the field. A harvesting head is typically disposed across the front of the combine vehicle supported on a feederhouse. This harvesting head is configured to cut and convey the crop into the combine vehicle itself where it is threshed, separated, and cleaned.
Traditional harvesting heads included an elongate rigid frame to which harvesting implements were added such as cutterbars, augers, reels, and endless belt conveyors. More recently, the once rigid frame has been replaced by multiple frame sections that are coupled together to pivot with respect to each other. A typical arrangement has a center frame and left and right wing frames that are coupled to the center frame to pivot with respect to the center frame. This arrangement requires that the other elements in the harvesting head also be pivotable with respect to each other. This multiple frame arrangement permits the wider harvesting heads to more accurately follow the contours of the ground as they are harvesting, and therefore to cut more crop.
Attempts have been made to create pivoting reels that are supported at each end on reel support arms that extend forward from the frame sections. In this manner, when the two wing frames pivot up or down with respect to the center frame, reels sections that are mounted on the wing frames can also pivot up and down with respect to a center reel section mounted on the center frame.
One problem with this arrangement, however, is that a large gap must be provided between adjacent reel sections (and on either side of the reel support arm which is located between the adjacent reel sections) to permit the reel sections to pivot up and down without interfering with the reel support arms. As a practical matter, this gap is so wide that crop located between the adjacent ends of the reel sections falls on the ground.
What is needed is an improved reel arrangement that permits adjacent reels to pivot with respect to each other yet provides a small enough gap (or no gap at all) such that crop is not lost yet the adjacent reel sections can pivot with respect to each other. These and other advantages of the invention are provided by claim 1. Further advantages are provided by additional claims dependent upon claim 1.